RALEIGH — Campbell Law School Assistant Legal Research and Writing Professor Krista Bordatto has written two recent law review articles.
The first, an article for the University of New Hampshire Law Review entitled “Public Trials and Plain Error,” 23 U.N.H. L. Rev. 65 (2025), which she co-authored with Santa Clara Law Associate Clinical Professor Stephen E. Smith, was published on Jan. 10.
Following is the abstract for the article:
“Courts are divided on the question of how Sixth Amendment public trial violations should be evaluated on appeal when a criminal defendant fails to object at trial to a courtroom closure. Typically, failing to object triggers plain error review on appeal, which demands a higher threshold of harm to obtain reversal compared to when an objection has been made at trial. Should this type of review also apply in its usual form to public trial errors? The article concludes that it should, despite the fact that public trial violations are considered “structural,” and, when properly preserved, do not require a showing of harm arising from the violation.”
The University of New Hampshire Law Review, formerly published under the title Pierce Law Review, replaced the peer-reviewed journal RISK: Health Safety and Environment. As one of two scholarly journals produced by University New Hampshire School of Law students, the UNH Law Review publishes articles of general legal interest exploring questions of law and unsettled legal issues.
Another article, entitled “The Sexual Violence Epidemic vs. the Uniform Code of Military Justice & Feres Doctrine,” is forthcoming for publication this spring in the Gonzaga Law Review.
Following is the abstract:
“Less than 0.009% of reported assaults result in a conviction for a sex offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), raising serious concerns about the epidemic of sexual violence in the military. Despite this, more than 99% of allegations of sexual assault in the military are verified. The Uniform Code of Military Justice has been modified by recent congressional legislation, but these modifications fall short of providing justice due to the prosecutorial discretion afforded to non-lawyer commanders. Moreover, service members are unable to bring claims of sexual violence to civilian courts when the military fails them due to the Supreme Court’s unwillingness to reverse the horror that has been caused by the Feres doctrine. This Article proposes that a combined approach must be utilized, removing sexual harassment from commanders’ discretion and amending the FTCA to allow sexual violence claims to proceed on the merits without analysis under Feres.”
Founded in 1966, Gonzaga Law Review is a student-run legal journal whose primary purpose is to provide a dependable research tool for the legal community and facilitate innovative legal thought. In addition, the Review provides members with opportunities to develop legal writing and editing skills. All pieces undergo a thorough editing process aimed to produce excellent legal scholarship. The Review publishes three printed issues per academic year, including articles and essays written by professors, judges and practitioners.
Bordatto teaches Legal Research and Writing I and II. Her scholarship emphasizes the disparities that exist within the Armed Forces legal justice system and their relation to the civilian sector.
Before joining Campbell Law in 2022, Bordatto taught Appellate Advocacy for St. Thomas University College of Law as an adjunct. She also served as the assistant director for Student Engagement and bar tutor for Kaplan Bar Review. Prior to joining Kaplan, she retired as a major from the U.S. Army.
Bordatto began her legal career as a litigator, focused on labor and employment, civil and appellate cases. She earned her law degree from St. Thomas University College of Law (magna cum laude), a Master of Science in Couples and Family Counseling from St. Thomas University and B.S. in psychology with a minor in English from the University of Oregon.
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